Why this ride
From Bharatpur it runs 288 km to Bharatpur; allow about 4 h 00 of riding. On the way it passes Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, back through Fatehpur Sikri and back through Agra Fort. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Keoladeo National Park and Agra Fort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 288 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 00
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Keoladeo National Park
For decades the Maharajas of Bharatpur kept this marshland as a duck-shooting estate, and the scale of the sport is hard to believe. On a single day in 1938 the viceroy Lord Linlithgow and his party shot more than four thousand birds, a record that still shocks people today. The shoots ended after independence, and in 1971 the area became a protected sanctuary. It is now Keoladeo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985 and one of the finest bird sanctuaries in Asia.
Read the complete Keoladeo National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Keoladeo National Park is where the day begins. Next is Agra Fort.
2. Agra Fort
Red sandstone walls rise out of the Yamuna floodplain at Agra, and for a moment they seem to have been put there to distract you from the Taj Mahal. Agra Fort is a very different thing from its famous neighbour, two and a half kilometres downstream. It is a palace-city, a military stronghold and a seat of government, begun by the emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed over several generations, with high double walls, a moat and gates that climb in zigzags to slow down attackers. UNESCO listed it in 1983.
Read the complete Agra Fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Agra Fort comes up about 67 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fatehpur Sikri.
3. Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri rises on a sandstone ridge west of Agra, a red city of palaces, courtyards and mosques built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the 1570s and abandoned just a few years later. Akbar built it to honour the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, who had predicted the birth of his son and heir, and for over a decade it was the capital of his empire. Then, for reasons that are still debated, perhaps a lack of water or political changes, the court moved away, and the city was left almost intact, a time capsule of Mughal architecture and a World Heritage site.
Read the complete Fatehpur Sikri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 107 km into the recorded legs you reach Fatehpur Sikri.
4. Agra Fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Agra Fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Agra Fort, about halfway. Next is back through Fatehpur Sikri.
5. back through Fatehpur Sikri
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fatehpur Sikri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fatehpur Sikri sits at 222 km, about halfway. Next is back through Agra Fort.
6. back through Agra Fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Agra Fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Agra Fort comes up about 225 km into the recorded legs. Next is Keoladeo National Park.
7. Keoladeo National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Keoladeo National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Keoladeo National Park closes the day.
Leg by leg
Keoladeo National Park to Agra Fort
Keoladeo National Park → Agra Fort is 67 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Agra Fort to Fatehpur Sikri
Agra Fort → Fatehpur Sikri is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fatehpur Sikri to Agra Fort
Fatehpur Sikri → Agra Fort is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Agra Fort to back through Fatehpur Sikri
Agra Fort → back through Fatehpur Sikri is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fatehpur Sikri to back through Agra Fort
back through Fatehpur Sikri → back through Agra Fort is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Agra Fort to Keoladeo National Park
back through Agra Fort → Keoladeo National Park is 64 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.